The Best Semi-Monthly Paying, High Yield Income ETFs for Canadian Investors

Canada has often outpaced the U.S. ETF industry when it comes to innovation. High-interest savings ETFs and spot crypto ETFs are good examples where Canadian issuers led the way. But one area where the domestic market has lagged somewhat in recent years is income ETFs.

While Canadian investors have a wide range of monthly distribution ETFs, weekly payouts remain unavailable. In the U.S., issuers like YieldMax, Roundhill, and Defiance have already embraced the weekly model. The good news is that Canadian ETF providers are starting to pay attention.

Weekly distributions aren’t here yet, but some issuers have rolled out semi-monthly products that pay twice a month. (It’s worth noting this is different from biweekly, which means every two weeks and doesn’t always line up neatly with months.)

The three leaders so far are Global X Canada, Hamilton ETFs, and Evolve ETFs, each using a different strategy to deliver yield. Here’s a closer look at the ones I’m most excited about from each.

Evolve US Equity UltraYield ETF (BIGY)

BIGY focuses on large-cap U.S. stocks and enhances income by writing covered calls on about 50% of the portfolio. The manager has discretion to set strike prices, rather than following a strict at-the-money or out-of-the-money approach.

Echoing a recent trend, the fund also employs 33% leverage through cash borrowing—similar to a margin loan rather than swaps—to boost both upside capture and distribution potential.

Distributions are paid twice a month. The most recent was $0.31250 per share, and with a NAV of $26.76 as of September 22, that works out to an annualized yield of about 28%. The math is straightforward: $0.31250 × 24 payments = $7.50 annually, divided by $26.76. Of course, investors should note that distributions can fluctuate depending on option premiums and market conditions.

The portfolio leans heavily toward tech and growth, where option premiums are richest. Top holdings include Tesla, Palantir, Coinbase, and MicroStrategy—all popular names for buy-write strategies.

As a new ETF, BIGY’s management expense ratio won’t be known until after the first year. The base management fee is 0.40%, which is reasonable, but the final MER will likely be higher due to the added costs of options trading and leverage

Hamilton Enhanced U.S. Equity DayMAX™ ETF (SDAY)

This is one of the more exciting launches in the Canadian market, as SDAY is among the first covered call ETF to use zero-day-to-expiry (0DTE) options.

These are contracts that expire the same day they are written, allowing the fund to harvest significant time decay and generate income at a much higher frequency. What sets SDAY apart is that its covered call exposure resets daily.

By the end of each trading day, call coverage is no longer present. That means the fund participates in overnight equity returns from the underlying basket of quality dividend-paying U.S. stocks held in the Hamilton U.S. Dividend Champions ETF (SMVP.U).

During the trading day, however, SDAY monetizes intraday volatility by selling S&P 500 index options. This balance gives it both daily income generation and overnight equity exposure.

Like BIGY, SDAY uses leverage through margin borrowing, but the cap is set at 25% instead of 33%. The most recent monthly distribution was $0.181 per share. Based on a NAV of $23.98, that works out to an annualized yield of about 18%, assume it remains steady.

SDAY is pricier than BIGY, with a management fee of 0.85%. Still, given the novel structure and strong early growth, it has positioned itself as one of the most innovative high-income ETFs available in Canada. Since launching on July 14, the fund has grown quickly, already reaching $134 million in assets under management.

Global X Bitcoin Covered Call ETF (BCCC)

BCCC is different from BIGY or SDAY in that it doesn’t use equities as the underlying asset. Instead, the ETF holds units of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and generates income by writing covered calls against that exposure.

An investor could replicate this by buying IBIT and selling calls directly, but that requires at least 100 shares, or about $6,400 at today’s price of $64 per share. BCCC trades in Canadian dollars and packages the strategy in an accessible ETF.

In line with Global X Canada’s broader revamp of its covered call suite, BCCC is actively managed. That means the manager decides strike prices, expiries, and when to roll positions, rather than following a systematic formula.

This is important because it allows more flexibility to capture upside while still monetizing bitcoin’s volatility. I also like the transparency, as BCCC’s portfolio metrics show exactly how much of the exposure is capped by calls and the average moneyness of options sold.

At a NAV of $23.05, the last semi-monthly distribution of $0.14 translates to an annualized yield of about 14.6% if payouts remain steady. BCCC charges a 0.65% expense ratio, which is in line with other specialty covered call ETFs.